Obliviously Obvious
by Hearts A Mess
Summary: Between the two of you, a suspicion arose, but who's to say that it can never be true? It really is...whatever you make of it.


**A/N: These two characters can be anyone that you choose, possibly even you. I only chose the Harmony pairing because that's how it worked in my mind. Hopefully I've done it justice to other canon and non-canon pairings (within reason).**

_So Sorry_, by Feist

* * *

It was such a heavy weight that settled in her chest; although it wasn't a completely new feeling… she had felt the same way during OWLs and waking up from a dream to where she had forgotten to study. It was like an unresponded letter that was fueled with emergency and uncertainty. It bothered her to the point of where she couldn't focus on studying.

She adjusted the satchel that hung over her shoulder, a gift from her mother for her acceptance into Hogwarts which seemed so long ago. Leaving the library in a huff, she took off out the main doors, and adjusted her sweater in aggravation. The worn castle stones passed under her feet and she realized that it was no use- she would have to talk to him. Today. It couldn't wait. Damn him.

A little miniature figure of the boy in question was perched on her shoulder, coyly toying with her hair and vying for attention. 'I bet you anything that I'm at the Quidditch pitch, trying to get rid of all of this aggravation that you left me with.'

She snorted in response, inadvertently offending some second years that passed. In the shadows of the outer halls, she passed through courtyards and stairwells that bordered the Black Lake. Out of earshot she couldn't help but ask; "Why does this always happen? Every time I get close, you step back. Like I'm about to put some sort of vice on you."

It was a whisper, but she immediately regretted the confession.

The small version grinned a devastating grin at her as he watched her rapid pace over the grounds. 'The fact that I may like it is probably what's really scaring me.'

Her eyebrows raised as she rolled her eyes. 'I'm letting myself get carried away,' her inner voice said with exasperation. Passing the greenhouses and taking the worn path down to the Quidditch pitch, her pace slowed as she saw the stadium, suddenly unsure of her decision.

_I'm sorry._

_Two words I always think_

_After you're gone_

_And I realize I was acting_

_All wrong_

'Think about it,' he said while picking some lint off her shoulder. 'We go through this song and dance everyday, and despite what everyone says, I still care about you. I've told you so.'

"If you really cared, you wouldn't treat me like this," she muttered. "You wouldn't be brushing off my help."

'I'm a guy. I can't take a girl's help.'

She huffed angrily again; "All the more reason why I shouldn't have to deal with this. We're supposed to be friends."

'Friends,' he said quietly with a hint of amusement. 'You think that's what this is all about?'

His cryptic comment left her quiet. Why was it bothering her that he was always becoming the focus of her thoughts? Why did he aggravate her and yet make her feel special in a way that her girlfriends couldn't? She had always figured that it was because she had a closer friendship with him than most other girls in her house, but now that excuse was taken over by a blushing memory.

_Double transfiguration had just let out, and a flood of relief had filled her when she realized she had time to put the finishing touches on her Charms essay before the Hogsmeade weekend. She was laughing at a Weasley Wizard Wheezes gag that he had produced from his pocket with a flourish; a quill that copied notes from class verbatim, but included anecdotes on the boring topics where it saw fit._

_Her laughter had suddenly died as she heard a rather unashamed voice comment, "I didn't know that her mouth could get so big."_

_Anger and self-consciousness flared inside of her as she did her best to ignore the comment, but the group of Slytherins that walked by with collective smirks didn't escape her friends glare._

"_Oi! Don't slink away, why don't you come back here and say it to her face- see what happens then!" His bright eyes had darkened, and a scowl pulled at his mouth. She saw his fists clench next to his pocket where he always kept his wand._

"_Got better things to do!" came the voice as the group disappeared around the corner._

_They had stopped in the hallway; she looking away and trying to adjust her books, while he stared down at her. She almost flinched when his hand grazed her chin, tilting her gaze up to his face._

_The storm clouds had faded from his eyes. "Don't let them bother you…okay? Everyone in this school knows that the whole of those guys doesn't even add up to one of you."_

_It was a sweet second that she took comfort in; a friend that would always be there for her, and boy who made her feel beautiful. She nodded slightly, and froze as she realized his hand was still under her chin, and watched his head dipped towards her almost imperceptibly._

_A copy of _Practical Potent Potions_ had slipped out of her grasp and landed with an echoing thud on the floor, clipping her foot along with it. She gasped and hopped backward on one foot, ending the moment between them._

No, not friends; two people that were still trying to dance around the awkward truth. The afternoon was now ending and a chill autumn wind was picking up.

_So selfish_

_Two words that could describe_

_Actions of mine_

_When patience is in short supply_

"What the blazes are you doing out here without a cloak?" came his carrying voice.

She stopped; befuddled in the fact that she had somehow ended up in the stadium with out realizing it, and that he was nowhere to be seen until he floated down from above her on his broomstick.

"I- was thinking," she said…without thinking.

"Must be," he replied with a hint of amusement with a note of concern. "Your lips are blue."

She touched her lips with a furrowed brow, it can't be that cold out… But it was; a huge gust of wind ruffled her skirt and her hair few about her. She pulled her sleeves down to cover her hands and shifted on her feet.

The wind on the pitch caused his hair to billow around his face; she had heard the other girls in the dorm, gossiping and giggling about how it was too long; maybe even too short- so many different opinions that didn't really seem to strike her as important- it was just another element that she found as him. Comforting… and yet a detail that couldn't be overlooked by the average bystander.

The broomstick bobbed beneath him and he cocked his head to the side, waiting for her answer. Seconds passed, while neither felt like they wanted to give in against their stubbornness.

_We don't need to say goodbye_

_And we don't need to fight and cry_

_We, we could_

_Hold each other tight_

_Tonight_

It was awhile until he sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes, and extended the same hand down to her. The bold colors of his practice uniform stood out against the wooden stands, and the gathering twilight.

"I know you're not much for it but…" he balanced precariously on one side of the broom, "fly with me?"

"_I'd feel better knowing you were safe here," he said with an unreadable stoic look. It was late afternoon and he was preparing to leave with his best friend. They wouldn't say where, but she had gotten the gist of the story as she watched them prepare to leave._

"_While you have all the fun? How sweet of you," she countered dryly. He probably didn't realize it, but asking her to stay safe was probably the biggest insult that he could throw at her. Her blood started to boil, and she must have been flushed because he pulled her aside._

"_I know it's not what you want to hear-"_

"_You're damn right it isn't!" she exploded. Her temperament rarely got the best of her, but it wasn't something he was new to either. She knew his tactics; to make her so angry that she abandon him because of her anger. It was another song-and-dance that they went through, one that always boiled down to, 'Do you care enough?'_

_We're so helpless_

_We're slaves to our impulses'_

_We're afraid of our emotions_

_And no one knows where the shore is_

_We're divided by the ocean_

_And the only thing I know is_

_That the answer isn't for our eyes_

"I'm coming with you."

It aggravated him to no end. In the best sort of way.

It didn't take much longer than a moment until she unconsciously let her satchel drop to the bleachers, and took his gloved leather hand, all without leaving the strangely intense gaze that his eyes gave. Her foot seamlessly and blindly found the crook of the foot brace and she regained her breath as she grasped his shoulder and the wood of the broom handle.

_I'm sorry_

_Two words I always think_

_After you're gone_

_And I realize I was acting_

_All wrong_

They were in the same proximity to each other as the memory of the hallway after transfiguration. It wasn't hard to see that the thought was familiar to them, and despite the height, she was able to relax into his touch.

They wound around the posts and the house banners that were fluttering in the breeze. His arm had snaked around her waist; kicking her heart rate up instantly. "You drive me nutters, you know that?"

"Likewise," she replied with a small smile.

It's sometimes rare to have a friendship that doesn't always take words to understand everything. They had that, and it became the envy and suspicion of their own friends as the years wore on and their bond grew.

_We don't need to say goodbye_

_And we don't need to fight and cry_

_We, we could_

_Hold each other tight_

_Tonight._

_Tonight._

_Tonight._

The sun had finally set. A slightly blue hand gripped his jersey, as his fingers settled into the fine wool of her sweater. His head tilted slightly again towards her, and suspicion among their friends suddenly became fact.


End file.
